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» Cinematour Forum   » Cinema Yak   » largest abandoned multiplex? (Page 1)

 
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Author Topic: largest abandoned multiplex?
Roger Katz
Member

Posts: 339
From: Thomaston, CT
Registered: Feb 2003

- posted September 18, 2003 08:02 PM      Profile for Roger Katz   Email Roger Katz         Edit/Delete Post 
We've discussed the largest and smallest open cinemas. Since my favorite cinemas are the abandoned ones, how about the largest multiplex that is abandoned. One that is not used for movies or any other purpose. One that hasn't been converted to retail or a gym. I want to know what is the largest multiplex just sitting there forlorn and abandoned waiting for someone to reopen it.

Here in Connecticut we had a ten screener in Meriden and an eight screener in Bristol that were abandoned for about two years, but both are now back in service. The largest abandoned multiplex now in Connecticut is the former Theaters East in Manchester which closed in 2001 with six screens. (I believe it had been a mere single screen when it originally opened in 1966.) The largest I have seen abandoned anywhere is the Pittsfield Cinema Center in Pittsfield, MA which closed in 2001 with a whopping eleven screens.

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Adam Martin
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Posts: 1090
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Feb 2003

- posted September 18, 2003 10:25 PM      Profile for Adam Martin   Author's Homepage   Email Adam Martin         Edit/Delete Post 
Somewhere around here (this website), I've seen a 16-plex that's closed. I don't know if it's seen any reuse or not.

Texas has several 10-plexes that are closed, but they've likely all been repurposed to churches or consumed by the shopping malls they're in.

Dallas: West End 10 (probably mall retail now)
Houston: AMC Town & Country 10 (status unknown)
Houston: AMC Willowbrook 10 (because of AMC's 24-plex nearby)
Lewisville: Super Saver 10 (now a church)
Killeen: Hollywood Northside 10 (status unknown)

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Daniel Fuentz
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Posts: 212
From: Cleveland, Ohio
Registered: Mar 2003

- posted September 19, 2003 04:23 AM      Profile for Daniel Fuentz   Email Daniel Fuentz         Edit/Delete Post 
There are only 2 abandoned multiplexes left in the Fresno/Clovis area, one being the old UA Movies 4, which had the same cross streets (Blackstone & Barstow aves.) as the UA Northgate 4 (Now a fabric store) and the Festival 6 (Now being transformed into an auto body shop). The other abandoned multiplex is the old Regency 6 in Clovis, which has recently been un-boarded and was home to a massive used car parking lot sale this past weekend. (I stopped in to see if I could find out anything about future plans for the theater, but all I could learn was that the car dealers had rented rows in the parking lot from whomever is leasing the building.) There is a small homemade sign on the rear of the building saying it is for lease, so I guess there are no definate plans for the property.

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Mark Lensenmayer
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Posts: 27
From: Columbus, OH
Registered: Feb 2003

- posted September 19, 2003 05:58 AM      Profile for Mark Lensenmayer   Email Mark Lensenmayer         Edit/Delete Post 
Regal opened a 14-plex on the east side of Columbus in 1999 that closed after about 2.5 years. All new construction. This was built at the height of the theatre building boom, and the location just wasn't right for this. A Marcus 16-plex about 2 miles away was already established, a bit closer to the population center there and it was a much better theatre. It now is empty...some talk about someone taking it over, but its pretty quiet. I think Regal lost some big bucks on that one.

Just a bit west of that sit 2 AMC houses that were right across the street from each other, one with 6 and one with 8. That's right around the corner from a closed triplex.

The 2 AMC's were always a problem, as they had very similar names and people were always going to the wrong location.

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Jeff Arellano
Senior Member

Posts: 685
From: Monterey Park, CA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted September 19, 2003 10:19 AM      Profile for Jeff Arellano   Email Jeff Arellano         Edit/Delete Post 
Los Angeles and region has a few.

AMC Closed its Burbank 14 location recently for a new 16 plex across the street. It was torn down last week.

GCC Had a 10 plex in Fallbrook Mall that was shuttered, and then remodeled, and reduced to a Lamelle 7.

Regal shut down a 10 plex in Whittier a few years ago when they first entered bankruptcy.

AMC has been talking about shutting down its Pine Sqaure 16 location when Crown Theatres opens a megaplex down the street.

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Scott D. Neff
Tour Guide

Posts: 661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Feb 2003

- posted September 20, 2003 10:44 AM      Profile for Scott D. Neff   Email Scott D. Neff         Edit/Delete Post 
I believe that the Century Desert 16 is still sitting behind a chain link fence in Las Vegas. It's really sad just seeing it sitting there... wasting away. Century closed it when they opened an 18-plex down the road... a much more modern 18.

Desert used to be a 5 screen drive-in... the center of the 16-plex is the old Drive-In building (or so I'm told).

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Jeff Leyland
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Posts: 6
From: Lake Charles, LA
Registered: Feb 2003

- posted September 21, 2003 11:24 AM      Profile for Jeff Leyland   Email Jeff Leyland         Edit/Delete Post 
I remember reading about a couple year old Loews 20 screen that was shut down in the Pittsburg area. I know it was during Loews bankruptcy, but I remember it being very close to another stadium theatre with a better location. Does anyone in that area know if it is still empty?

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Mark Richey
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Posts: 90
From: Fort Worth, TX
Registered: Feb 2003

- posted September 22, 2003 11:42 PM      Profile for Mark Richey   Author's Homepage   Email Mark Richey         Edit/Delete Post 
In addition to the long-closed West End 10 (an admirable, if misguided, attempt to bring a movie theater back to Downtown Dallas), the area saw the closing of the 14 (or 16--I can't remember) screen UA MacArthur Marketplace back in July. There were rumors that the property was going to be sold to another theater chain, but as far as I know, it's sitting over there in north Irving empty.

Like the abandoned Regal in Columbus, it was built during the theater-building boom of the late 1990s (I believe it opened in 1999). Its main problem was location. It's sitting in the middle of a not-very-developed area, beside an interstate whose primary purpose is to get people to and from DFW Airport (to be fair, I suspect that UA thought the area would be much more built-up by now). It was also hard to get in and out of, and there are several other multiplexes within a ten-minute drive. All in all, it's not too surprising the theater shuttered.

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Roger Katz
Member

Posts: 339
From: Thomaston, CT
Registered: Feb 2003

- posted September 23, 2003 04:05 AM      Profile for Roger Katz   Email Roger Katz         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
The area saw the closing of the 14 (or 16--I can't remember) screen UA MacArthur Marketplace back in July. There were rumors that the property was going to be sold to another theater chain, but as far as I know, it's sitting over there in north Irving empty.
The MacArthur Marketplace in Irving has been bought by Marquee Cinemas, and according to their website it will be opening soon.

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Mike Law
Member

Posts: 60
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Jul 2003

- posted September 25, 2003 10:01 PM      Profile for Mike Law   Email Mike Law         Edit/Delete Post 
Let's not forget the five-plex (?) that goofy U/A bailed on here in Sacramento on Greenback Lane after about five years... Not the biggest, but a real bonehead move on their part.

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Evans A Criswell
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Posts: 2
From: Huntsville, AL
Registered: Oct 2003

- posted October 13, 2003 02:48 PM      Profile for Evans A Criswell   Author's Homepage   Email Evans A Criswell         Edit/Delete Post 
There are several larger theatres near me that have gone away in the last few years. Here is a complete list of theatres in the following cities that have closed that had 4 screens or more. The largest had 16 screens:

Huntsville, AL:

University 6 (Consolidated, then Carmike)
Regal 8 (Cobb, then Regal)

Decatur, AL:

Gateway 4 (Regal in its final days)

Nashville, TN:

Cinema North 6 (Consolidated, then Carmike)
Cinema South 4 (Consolidated, then Carmike)
Fountain Square 14 (AMC, then Carmike)
Carmike 6 at Harding Mall
Hermitage 4 (Martin, then Carmike)
Carmike Cool Springs Galleria 10
Lion's Head 5 (Consolidated, then Carmike)
Carmike Williamson Square 8
Regal Nippers Corner 10
Courtyard 8 (Litchfield, then Regal)
O'Neal Old Hickory Cinema 16
O'Neal Watson Glen Cinema 10

Gadsden, AL:

Gadsden Cinemas (4-plex) (independent)

Anniston, AL:

Carmike 6

Birmingham, AL:

Carmike Colonnade 10
Bama 6 (Consolidated, then Carmike)
Cobb Midfield 6
Cobb Center Point 6
Cobb Hoover Square 6
Cobb Green Springs 6
Cobb Cinema City 8

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Daniel Fuentz
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Posts: 212
From: Cleveland, Ohio
Registered: Mar 2003

- posted October 15, 2003 03:02 PM      Profile for Daniel Fuentz   Email Daniel Fuentz         Edit/Delete Post 
The Fresno/Clovis area has one less abandoned multiplex, now. I drove past the old UA Movies 4 last night and it is in the process of being gutted. The marquee is still standing along Blackstone Avenue, so I will go by later today and take some pictures of that along with whatever is left of the theatre. The place has been empty since 1998 or 1999, save from being used as a "haunted theatre" at Halloween for a couple of years.

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Joe Masher
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Posts: 7
From: White Plains, NY
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted November 09, 2003 04:47 AM      Profile for Joe Masher   Email Joe Masher         Edit/Delete Post 
The Loews North Versailles 22 (the Pittsburgh area theatre referred to earlier) opened to no business. It was located right down the street from the Destinta 20-something plex. The Loews was open for about 2 years, then shut down and demolished. The equipment, seats, projectors, concession equip, etc. has found a new home at the Loews 34th St. in Manhattan.

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Scott D. Neff
Tour Guide

Posts: 661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Feb 2003

- posted November 09, 2003 10:14 AM      Profile for Scott D. Neff   Email Scott D. Neff         Edit/Delete Post 
Wow -- imagine that. A corporation realized it was time to cut bait on their $18+ million investment... that's rare.

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Joe Redifer
New Member

Posts: 29
From: Denver, CO
Registered: May 2003

- posted November 09, 2003 06:46 PM      Profile for Joe Redifer   Author's Homepage   Email Joe Redifer         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Roger Katz wrote:
My favorite cinemas are the abandoned ones.
May I ask why? Personally, I prefer cinemas that show movies. You'd be amazed at how much more entertaining they are. Unless you want to loot the place or something, which is always fun. [Smile]

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